"I don't think we've ever ducked anything all season ... with what was not actually a squad but a group of players who wanted to represent Hawke's Bay United.
"Many players chose not to join the local team so that was their choice and it's what myself and Leon inherited," he says of his assistant, Leon Birnie.
Of the chosen ones, some managed only half the season but in Angell's eyes they were just as important a cog in the wheel as others.
"People thought they knew what I was or who I was but they knew nothing."
He took the critics' opinions in his stride but feels they underestimated his credentials.
A former Central Football age-group mentor, he saw the franchise's offer as a portfolio to step up to a senior level.
"Many of the players were new to the national league and, in many instances, even new to me so we got to know each other as we progressed."
Angell says his football resume shows he's had his share of ups and downs, someone who has had to prove his worth.
"I will continue to prove myself because I've got aspirations as a coach just like anyone else."
Through his team he has been able to present his credentials which some have bought into.
Bay player Sean Liddicoat, 17, is the epitome of years of hard work in the federation's catchment area of Manawatu, Taranaki and Gisborne.
"We spent an awful long time putting together a programme," he says, adding while he didn't have senior experience in New Zealand he had come from a professional background involving youth and senior levels in England.
"I took only two sessions last season, as you know, because the [coach Chris Greatholder] was under a health issue. So, for some reason, all hell seemed to break loose around that," he says of his predecessor who didn't find favour with the franchise after three seasons, albeit taking Bay United to a historic maiden semifinal and following it up the previous season.
"I can't quite work out why certain people based their opinions on who or what I was based on a couple of training sessions," says Angell, after some players rebelled during his interim phase.
"It was unbelievable that in such a short time you can bring about so many opinions."
Some fans this summer have drawn conclusions on his abrasive manner on the sidelines on match days but he feels it's warranted.
"We have a young group of players and sometimes the intimidation from an older group can actually influence people's thinking," says Angell who believes that sort of coercion in turn sways referees' decisions.
"Some people maybe aren't used to that sort of drive or passion ... but, unfortunately, I'm not going to ease up because that's what's got me through," he says, mindful his players respond favourably to it.
"We have a good laugh and nothing else but maybe the concern is I rant and rave and throw teacups," he says, revealing he isn't shy to point out his players' inadequacies.
"Realistically they are my guinea pigs as the first opportunity to put together a group of footballers to represent me and the region," he says, mindful they aren't from here but have "immersed themselves into the region".
His troops wear the black-and-white brand proudly as anyone else in the province, regardless of whether they are born here or not.
"I don't believe they've been given the credit they deserve because there's been a big negative undertone all the way through and that's typical.
"I find that degrading for the work people have put in in the region.
"It's not about me but about them and saying to them well done for doing something that's never been done before."
Whether it'll ever be done again, he says, only time will tell.
Angell says if perceptions mattered he wouldn't have got the season off the ground. "At the end of the day I'm mad, I'm daft because realistically you've got no players [so] you've got no chance of even thinking that."
